BEGINNING OF DEPORTATIONS

Already in 1932, France began to force some foreign publishers to leave the country. These included a number of the Polish brothers, as well as Brother and Sister Alfred Rütimann from Switzerland. Brother Rütimann did French translating, and he continued in this work after he returned to Switzerland.

TELEGRAMS SENT TO HITLER

By now persecutions of Jehovah’s Witnesses had become severe across the border in Germany. So on October 7 of 1934 all the French congregations joined with their brothers world wide in sending telegrams of protest to Hitler and his government for their persecution of Jehovah’s Witnesses. Some French post offices refused to send this telegram, but most of them did when the brothers insisted.

CLERGY OPPOSITION AND MASS DEPORTATIONS

As the work of Jehovah’s Witnesses prospered in France, the clergy began to see a great “danger” to “their” flocks. In Paris certain Polish clergymen held a conference, and agreed to do everything to stop our activity among the Poles. They had our literature burnt in public in front of the church doors. In other places they posted signs on the doors of churches and schoolhouses warning against the purchase of our literature.

Then, in February 1934, a letter issued by the French Ministry of the Interior stated that our writings were “subversive,” and ordered the police to expel from France all foreign missionaries. The decree also affected some of our Polish brothers who had learned the truth in France. In some places, whole communities of these devoted Christians were required to leave France within 48 hours. Thus, some congregations composed entirely of Polish brothers, not only in the north of France, but also in the mining towns and villages of central France, disappeared overnight. The 1935 Year Book of Jehovah’s Witnesses commented about this:

“Many of these [Polish brothers] have been left without employment and with no means of support and with no money to return to their native land. A great hardship has been worked upon them. The French government also expelled Germans and English citizens who were there engaged in the pioneer service. This has made it difficult for the work to be carried on as successfully as had been hoped.”